India vice-captain Rohit Sharma on Monday said that the men in blue want to leave a mark in Australia during the upcoming tour. Indian players reached Australia ahead of the first T20I set to take place on Saturday and had a net session training at Gabba, in Brisbane on Sunday. After the 3-match T20I series, both the teams will play a four-match Test series, which will be followed by a 3-match ODI series in January.

Speaking to a news conference on the tour, the 32-year-old said, “It’s the one place that we want to leave our mark and do well as a unit. The last time we played Test series here _ although we lost two games and we drew one game _ I thought there were a few close games being played,” he said.

India, who are currently on top of the Test rankings, lost 2-1 in South Africa in the longest format, and then suffered a humbling 4-1 defeat in England, earlier this year. Despite the recent results on away tours, Sharma maintained that there is a good feeling among the teammates this time around. “We want to make it count this time around. There’s a really good feeling inside the group,” he said.

HOT DEALS

Talking about Australia having the home advantage, Sharma said that Indian batsmen will have a hard time against the opposition’s bowling line-up. “Australia has bowlers who are very tall and extract those conditions, use them to their advantage. Indian batsmen generally are not that tall. Obviously, it’s not that easy for us but, again, all the guys are quite determined to change things around this time,” he said.